Free Republic

A NAVY diver who lost a hand and a leg in a Sydney Harbour shark attack is back diving and walking, and says he wants to return to work at the scene of the attack. Doctors said navy clearance diver Paul de Gelder was lucky to survive the mauling by a 2.7-metre bull shark off Garden Island Naval Base on February 11. After seven weeks in hospital, Mr de Gelder says he is determined to put the experience behind him. He is already walking with a prosthetic leg, driving high performance cars and confronting his fears head-on by swimming with...

The thought of a 15ft great white shark ripping through a metal cage and heading straight for you is the stuff of nightmares – but it was a reality for two scuba divers in Mexico. The terrifying incident unfolded as the two men took part in an ‘ultimate shark diving experience’ and watched the two tonne shark feeding on tuna. Caught on camera, the film shows the shark suddenly veering towards the cage, jamming its head between the bars and smashing it to pieces while the divers scramble for safety. One of the divers, calling himself ScubaDubaDive, posted the hair-raising...

WASHINGTON - A Navy dive team that checked the waters off Iraq for explosives before the American invasion could be used in the search for a missing Alabama girl in Aruba, the country's prime minister says. Prime Minister Nelson Oduber made the request in a letter to Sen. Richard Shelby in response to the Alabama Republican's suggestion that Aruba give the FBI more authority in the search for Natalee Holloway. In his letter, Oduber says he was made aware of the unit - known as Naval Special Clearing Team One - by a Texas dive team that has been helping...

<p>The Navy said four sailors on the Pearl Harbor-based cruiser Port Royal jumped overboard during a nine-month span, an unusually high number that the ship's command finds hard to explain.</p> <p>"I can't give you an explanation because I don't know what goes on in the minds of every one of those sailors on a daily basis," said Lt. Cmdr. Brian Fort, executive officer of the Port Royal. "I can tell you that for each one of them, there were some issues that those sailors were working through in their lives."</p>